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nervous chihuahua

Presentations – how do I stop feeling nervous?

So… how do I stop feeling nervous?

…the quick answer is –  I can’t just stop feeling nervous. So, a more useful question might be, do we want to get rid of nerves altogether?

I’m sure we can all recall a moment when we have had to stand up in front of a room of people, whether for a work presentation or maybe for a wedding speech. The hairs on our arms raise up, our heart is in our throat, our breathing rate goes for a jog….the list goes on.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could stop all of this and make our lives easier? If we did achieve that, then what might that speaker look like?..it could be… very robotic.

This is something that often comes up during our presentation skills course which I for one always encourage a conversation around. As trainers, the way we like to think about it is, that we don’t/can’t get rid of nerves, but what we can train ourselves to do is to help control them.

So how do we do this? This is where the advice can get very individual but here are a few of the key changes to consider:
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1,2,3 tips

3 Tips to Become a More Confident & Engaging Presenter 

When I was 8 years old I gave my first speech to an audience of 300+ schoolmates.

It was terrifying, and I’m pretty sure I rushed my way through it to get it over with.

So in the decades since I’ve done all sorts of things to become more confident as a presenter.

  • Asked friends and colleagues to watch me speak and give feedback
  • Taken courses in presentation skills and pubic speaking
  • Watched TED Talks and tried to adopt their techniques

Each of these has helped me build confidence and skill and cultivate my own style.

But if I had to begin again, this is the guidance I wish I’d had when learning to present ideas in a clear, connected and engaging way…

 

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Rugby ball with hands - teamwork

The importance of shared responsibility and autonomy in the system for teams

Shared responsibility through having autonomy in the system has led the England rugby team to the brink of a quarter-final place, winning three consecutive matches in the process.

The Rugby World Cup 2023 has descended on France, all eyes at home and abroad were fixated on the England team, their World Cup opener versus the Argentinian Pumas.

Saturday, 9th September, played at the State Velodrome, Marseille, 63,118 in attendance was the perfect backdrop to tighten the screw on an England team that had lost six of its previous nine matches. To put this in perspective, England had lost five of their last six.

Many, were baying for blood, the media eyeing its prey ready to inject its venomous bite into an English jugular. Read more